Company News

Best Buy is proud to be named to the list of Best Companies for Women to Advance 2020, a new list from Parity.org that recognizes companies that have made significant commitments to the advancement of women.

We were one of only 35 companies that made the list, including just 11 large companies (5,000 or more employees).

“We are determined to be an inclusive and diverse company, not just because it’s good business sense but because it’s our fundamental obligation as leaders and as human beings,” said Kamy Scarlett, Best Buy chief human resources officer.

For many years, the purchasing power and business ownership of Black Americans has increased while, at the same time, there has also been a movement to support Black businesses across the country. This effort has come to be known as Blackout Day and, this year, Best Buy joins many others in offering our support. That’s the encouraging news.

The unfortunate news is that as we looked to highlight the Black-owned businesses that we purchased consumer electronics or accessories from, we realized just how short that list is.

We are, I believe, in one of the toughest times in our country’s history, as we continue to battle a deadly pandemic and the resulting economic havoc while, once again, coming face-to-face with the long-term effects of racial injustice. Watching tens of thousands take to the streets to speak out against fear and inhumanity is, on one hand, inspiring for the commitment it represents and, on the other, heartbreaking for its profound need.

But what’s next? What do we do to change the cycle in which black men or women, with tragic frequency, are harmed by those who are supposed to protect them?

Another black man in America died senselessly on Monday, and it happened only miles from where many of us live. As cars and people passed by, unaware that a man was struggling to breathe as another’s knee was on his neck, our state and country witnessed yet another example of how the life of an African American man, woman, boy or girl is fundamentally different from their white friends, neighbors and colleagues.

All this happened on the same day another black man, this time in New York City, was threatened by a white woman who said she would call the police on him when he requested she leash her dog, as required by city ordinance.